


All you had to do was ask

by Rae_Saxon



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Blood, But Love always wins, Death, F/M, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28436619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rae_Saxon/pseuds/Rae_Saxon
Summary: Tecteun has the Doctor trapped and attempts to gain her regeneration energy. The Master is left with a choice.
Relationships: Lee!Master/Martin!Doctor, The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	All you had to do was ask

Was the fight over or had it just begun? The Doctor, the other one, the wrong one, the one who was older than himself, but younger than his Doctor, the one neither of them could remember, she was lying on the floor, passed out.

Her husband (Lee? Had that been his name? Awfully common name, really) had built himself up before her, spreading his arms, protecting her with hands and teeth, but Tecteun didn't pay them any attention anymore. Her greedy gaze was pinned to _his_ Doctor, currently only half conscious and trapped in the constriction built for her.

The Master, of course, hadn't fought. Had just watched, unsure who to root for, tied to the spot by nothing but his own paralysis.

“It'll be mine.” Tecteun's hushed, excited voice was the only sound to be heard in the room anymore, along with the soft hum of her machines. “All of it. All of your energy. Finally mine, as it was always supposed to be.”

It was what he had wanted, in a way, of course. He had tried to best the Doctor, had tried to reach the Doctor. For so long, the idea of her being forever above him, forever so far out of his reach had broken him in a way that made him think was unrepairable. Her, dying, now, in front of him, from her own hubris, her own _specialness_ , Gods, wasn't that perfect poetry, his perfect revenge?

... If only he didn't hate Tecteun that much. If only he didn't hate the thought of the Doctor, just a child, so young, so innocent, so untouched by death, dying in her care, again and again, nothing but a guinea pig for her sick desires, just like he had been for Rassilon.

If only the thought of a universe without the Doctor didn't tie his stomach into painful knots, making him sick.

Broken, he was so broken, so far gone, just one tiny little tip in the right direction and he would fall right into blissful quiet of the mind, blissful peace found only in the indifference of a man done with his life.

But he wasn't quite there yet, not as long as the Doctor was in front of him, the curtain of blond hair fallen into her face, her eyes struggling to keep open, looking at him rather than Tecteun. There wasn't hope in them and it was an odd sight, seeing the Doctor without hope.

She was saying goodbye.

As always, as her incarnation before this, she had already given up on his loyalty.

Behind her, he could see Lee's muscles twitch, could see his hands clutching to fists as he stared at Tecteun intently, clearly torn between protecting the wife he knew and the one who would forget him. The Master recognised the signs as easily as only a man could who had lived them all.

He loved her. He would protect her. Get her out of here. All he needed was Tecteun's attention elsewhere, the right moment...

Well. He could provide that.

If that's what he wanted to do.

The Master wasn't known for making the noble sacrifice, of course. Selflessness was rarely ever in his repertoire. He could hardly be blamed, now, could he, in a universe that had never showed the slightest care for him.

Early, he had had to learn to fight for himself because no one else would.

Well.

Almost no one.

It was a weird moment, as he stood there, watching. He felt paralysed, felt as if time had slowed down and the question was so very clear to him, hanging in the air, for what felt like an eternity.

Either he moved now and did what he had never done for the Doctor, betrayed everything he once stood for, everything he'd chosen his name for, or he'd keep on standing here, watching as Tecteun sucked every last, little fizzle of life energy out of the Doctor.

Was it a choice? Was it ever really something to think about or simply something he needed to pretend to have a choice in, in order to keep his sanity, in order to keep his control? When one made a choice, they tended to create a second reality in which the exact other one played out, but the Master wondered, in the exact moment as he rushed forwards, if there would ever be a second reality created for this moment.

And if the Doctor would ever know that him dying for her had been a decision to come as easily to him as the warmth to the sun?

Nobody was paying any attention to him. Nobody but the Doctor seemed to even remember he was there. The exact second Tecteun pressed the final lever down, ready to receive the Doctor's life energy, he jumped between them, blocking the connection by clinging to the cable. A silent scream never left his body as he felt his energy torn from him, painfully and final. Unable to move, unable to stop, even if he had wanted to, the Master fell to the ground. He forced himself to stay awake, just for a second longer, by the expertise of someone who had survived several final deaths, just to make sure the Doctor truly was untouched.

Her eyes had widened from the shock, adrenaline making her forget her weakness, just for a moment, but it was enough to stand when Lee used Tecteun's scream of triumph to rush forwards, untie her from the apparition and pull her with him. The Master's sight was blurring. He wanted to laugh, laugh in Tecteun's face, but he couldn't move, couldn't turn. He wanted to nod towards Lee, wanted to show that he knew he was going to protect her, wanted him to know how much he hated him for having been there first, for having gotten to love her. Wanted to give her a final goodbye, wanted to see her realisation that he had done it, had died for her, but his eyes fell shut and soon, soon there was only nothingness.

The Doctor screamed. Everything, every single thought, every cell of her body, all her energy, all her tiredness, the tips of her hair, her whole mind – screaming.

This couldn't be happening, this wasn't happening.

Something about Tecteun had made her sad, had made her feel pity. She didn't remember this woman. Didn't remember her as anything but this power-hungry, reckless person, ready to suck her dry, but the sadness of it all, it had still over-powered her.

Now there was nothing but rage. Hot, overpowering, burning rage.

In this second, there was no power to stop her, nothing in the universe that wouldn't bend to her will, she would break time herself to stop this from happening. Lee tried to hold her back, tried to calm her, soothe her, anything, pain and incomprehension clear on his face, but the Doctor wouldn't be held back anymore.

The second Tecteun realised that the power she had received wasn't even near to the extents she had hoped for, the moment she had torn her eyes back open in anger, the Doctor was already glowing, glaring, burning not far from her, her voice echoing and powerful and everywhere.

“You want this?” she asked. “You want the burden of endless energy, the curse of immortality, you want the loneliness in a universe of absolutely no one being like you? Take it. Take it all. I have never wanted it. I never asked for it. All you had to do was ask.”

Tecteun's eyes widened, widened at the energy radiating off the Doctor, gaze so fixed on her, she appeared hypnotised and stumbled forwards.

The Doctor let her, waited until she was standing right in front of her, so close now, a breath would be enough to transfer her energy into her, a playful wind, but instead, the Doctor laughed coldly.

He wasn't sure where the rusty pole came from, she seemed to have broken in half and pushed through both of Tecteun's hearts. One second, he had held this Doctor, this weird, estranged, quirky, wrong Doctor, the next she had turned into a cold Goddess.

He didn't know his Doctor as a calculating murderer. It was scary, seeing her capable of this. Was this their future? Blood on her hands, soaking her coat, a cruel smile on her lips as she watched Tecteun fall to the ground?

He knew, could feel it, her pain, knew she had done it for this man. It enraged him, set his skin on fire, that she could love someone enough to murder for him so easily, could love him... more than she loved him? Gods, it stung. He had always known, known that he wasn't enough, wouldn't be enough, but it was different, seeing it so clearly.

The energy she had emitted, the energy she had fooled Tecteun with, he had known from the very first second who she was truly going to give it for. The scream, her scream, it had echoed in his mind like it was his own. The energy, golden, uncontrollable by anyone but the Doctor, it rushed to this man in waves, embraced him, penetrated him like he was air, he could see it pour in and out like an endless stream, more intense the closer she stumbled to him.

When she had finally reached him, she fell to her knees in front of him weakly, pulling him into her lap, holding him with hands trembling, fingers running through his hair, a faint whisper falling from her lips.

He stood several steps away, but he could hear it as if she was whispering it into his ear, into his mind, could hear it so clearly.

“Don't you dare,” she whispered. “Don't you dare leaving me. I'm not letting you. I'm not ever letting you.”

It was as simple as it was effective. There wasn't a power in this universe, not now, that could stop him from tearing open his eyes with a gasp, looking up at the Doctor in silent amazement. Stunned into a complete loss for words.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she whispered, the rage, the tornado of energy around her ceasing as suddenly as it had started, stopping as if it had fallen to the ground, lifeless. Her voice was soft again, now, gentle.

“What did you do?” he asked, as if he didn't know, and the Doctor simply shrugged.

“I have endless energy, so why not share it?”

“With me?” he asked, so stunned by this simple admission.

Oh, he was burning, seething. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. She had not only forgotten him, moved on from him, she had grown to love this... this.... what had he ever done... It was supposed to be _him_. It was supposed to be him protecting her, dying for her, _living_ for her.

With a glaring scream, he was running forwards, not knowing what he was doing anymore, his head gone, his body boiling, and he grabbed this man by his stupid purple checked lapels, pulled him close to his rage-contorted face, gnarling his teeth at him.

“What did you ever do to deserve her, huh?” he shouted. “Who do you think you are?”

Something sparked in this man's tired eyes, something dangerous, but he didn't care, wouldn't care. There was nothing he could do, nothing to keep the Doctor, keep her from forgetting her, save their future together, but he could scream and he could rage and he could mourn and nothing would stop him, nothing.

“No one!” he shouted, “do you hear me? No one will love her like I do!”

Suddenly, the man smiled, grinned, deviously, cruelly and it made his blood cook with hot rage, made him want to smash in these brilliantly white teeth, but then the man spoke and it completely threw him off course.

“I know.”

The Doctor, having jumped up to separate them, stopped in her tracks, frozen for a moment.

“Oh,” her lips formed silently and something appeared in her eyes, some understanding that seemed to go beyond him and he wanted to know, needed to know, when he heard the Doctor's – his Doctor's – voice over his shoulder.

“Koschei. Let him go.”

He let the man fall back to the ground with a dull sound.

“It's... it's not fair..” he whispered, feeling drained all of a sudden, broken. “It's not fair, Doctor.”

She was pale as she walked up to him, taking him in her arms, just as her older self rushed past him, pulling up her partner gently. Everyone was exchanging gazes, seemed to know something he didn't, but he didn't care, couldn't care anymore. He clung to the Doctor, his Doctor, unwilling to let her go, to face this future of loosing her, of her not knowing him anymore. He couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear the thought of disappearing like that.

“It's alright,” she whispered, clutching him to her chest tightly. “It's alright, my brave Koschei.”

“Nothing's alright,” he whispered back, hoarsely, not wanting to look anymore, not wanting to face this reality. Behind him, the Doctors exchanged a very loving smile.

“Same old idiot,” the older Doctor muttered, grinning slightly. “Same old jealous old fool.”

“Hm,” the Master hummed, not quite able to disagree, not quite able to be ashamed either. There was a steady, growing bubble of happiness building in those hearts that had not known it for as long as they were born. The Doctor had saved him.

She... cared? She had given him from what was hers, so beautifully, all-consumingly hers, and something inside him, a very ancient ache, was slowly healing with a power so strong, not even her energy could compare.

And now she was with him, soft fingers brushing over his cheek and he blinked up at her, feeling temporarily taken out by these hazel, glittering eyes.

“Back with you in a sec,” she promised, before getting up, taking a step towards.... well, Lee had been an awfully stupid name, at least he had been right with that.

“Koschei,” she spoke and the Master flinched, he did, even though he had known it was coming, too long had it been since he's heard that name.

“Lee” looked up.

“What?” He tried to fill his voice with contempt, but it simply sounded sad. Was that what he sounded like all the time when he tried that? God, that was pathetic.

The Doctor took both his hands in her own, pulled him gently out of the other Doctor's embrace, who let him go with a reassuring nod.

“There's no reality, no universe, nothing, that could ever, ever, make me stop loving you. I could forget you a hundred, a million times, could get this mind wiped until it's nothing but soup and still find my way back to you.”

The Master thought his hearts might be set on fire, that's how painfully fast they beat, trying to keep up with all the feelings flooding him all at once.

 _Hope_.

Oh God, how long had it been since the last time he had felt hope?

“Lee” blinked.

“But...”

“How can you not feel it,” his Doctor laughed next to him and he turned his head in confusion, the first sparks of hope now spreading on his own face, a hope he seemed to barely dare to allow. “He's... he's so like you, every bit of him screams at me. I can immediately tell. Can't you at all?”

He turned around, then, Koschei, Lee, whatever he was called, he turned around to the Master and their gazes met.

“You're... you... you're me?” he asked, and the Master could hear from the intake of breath just how much he was holding back from his voice.

The Master shrugged.

“No one will love her like me, ever. But you did. So there's only one person you could've been.”

“But... but how... don't you... why can't you...” Koschei stammered, looking from him to the Doctors and back again. “You can't... remember... anything?”

The Master shook his head quietly.

A moment of silence spread between them.

“I don't ever... I can't bear... forgetting any second of... all the things we...” he looked at his Doctor, clearly lost for words and she nodded, a painful expression on her face.

“I know. Me neither. But I don't think we'll have much choice in the matter.”

Koschei nodded.

“At least... we'll find each other again..... right?”

They exchanged a look, then the Master and his Doctor, neither of them finding the strength or willingness to tell them the whole truth, the fights, the deaths, the taunts, the cruelties. They nodded. What did it matter, the distinction? In the end, they never had truly been without one another. In the end, maybe that was all that mattered.

“Come on,” the other Doctor murmured, pulling her husband gently away. “Let's go home. Have some rest. You and me.”  
  
He nodded, but his hectic gaze found them again and again, as she slowly led him back to her TARDIS, disappearing, leaving the Doctor and the Master alone now.

They exchanged another look, silent now.

“You're coming with me,” the Doctor finally spoke and he noticed it wasn't a question, as if she had grown tired of him saying no.

He took her in fully then, the blood on the hem of her coat, on her hands, Tecteun's lifeless body and raised an eyebrow.

“I don't want you to murder for me,” he noted, because it was true, because he needed her to be the insufferable hypocrite he loved to hate.

“I don't want you to die for me,” she replied, completely untouched and he smiled, because he couldn't help it, because she was such a far cry from the boy she had used to be, fallen apart and sobbing in his arms after having killed their school bully in a fit of protectiveness.

She was an angel of revenge, slaying their enemies, stained in blood and she was beautiful and gorgeous and not from this planet, not from any planet, in fact, that he knew of.

The Master sighed.

“You'll have to make up your mind then, because that's what you asked me to do, wasn't it? Back on the colony ship.”

The Doctor flinched, as if struck in the face, blinking to regain her composure.

“You chose not to. You chose not to listen.”

The Master shrugged.

“No. But you chose to believe that fairly quickly.”

There they stood, in the ruins of it all, looking at each other, wondering if they could form a new beginning out of these tender first words uttered to each other without hatred.

“I didn't want you to die for me,” she finally broke the silence. “Or with me. Or... die in any way, actually. I just... wanted you by my side.”

He shrugged again, not knowing what to say. There she stood, her eyes had gone soft and it was so typical. Now that she was finally paying attention to him, finally looked at him, finally had something other than hate on her face, he just wanted to wipe it away, wanted that hard expression back he knew how to talk to, knew how to provoke, how to stoke.

“What about now?” he finally asked, his voice breaking. “Do you still want me by your side now?”

The Doctor's face _did_ harden and instead of relieved, it made him feel worried. Did he cause it? The one time he hadn't wanted to?   
  
“I told you,” she said. “You're coming with me.”

Again not a question, the Master noticed. He didn't particular mind. Not having a choice meant he could pretend that he didn't want to.

He nodded.

They walked in silence, after that, back to her TARDIS. He didn't ask about his own and she didn't ask if she should take it in, simply did. Materialised all around it and parked it inside and his ship, stupid, loyal, love-struck ship, let her.

“What about your pets?” he asked, leaning against the console in what he hoped seemed casual.  
  
He wasn't feeling very casual.

“What about them?” the Doctor spit. “They're on Earth.”

Why was she angry again, what had he said?

“You'll.. want them around, surely?”

“With you in here? That won't work, they're not exactly your biggest fans.”

Precisely, he wanted to shout, wanted to make her understand that he didn't want her to sacrifice her stupid travels with her stupid friends for babysitting him. Or, no, he did, he very much did want that, but he thought he couldn't handle the resentment it would bring along.

This wasn't going to work. It's hardly working now, Doctor, he thought. Look at you. You're shaking with rage. I know. I know what it looks like. What it feels like.

He thought back to his time in the vault, such a different Doctor, so much colder. She, she was burning up from the inside, every emotion on its way out, every spark of anger smouldering through her skin. If she were to touch him right now, she'd punch.

Back then, she had just kept it all inside until he had starved alone in the cold, and then blamed him for not eating enough.

“Talk about your feelings,” she'd told her, while sitting so far out of reach. “I need to know what you feel, Missy.”

Stupid, silly Doctor. What had she expected him to say. Alone? Lonely? Abandoned? Thrown away to the side, another unfinished project for you to dwell on while you're out with your real friends?

He had simply stayed silent.

The Master gulped, looking up at her now, as she stood at the console, shaking.

“I'm scared, Doctor.”

Here's how I feel. Take it. Respond to it. I know you will. You will.  
  
The rage fell off her face like a mask, her eyes flinching up to him and her haunched shoulders straightened. She looked surprised, then confused, then empathetic, all in such a short time, before she settled on a crooked little grin.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Me too.”

“You're mad at me.”

She stared at him, then sighed, letting her eyes fall shut for a second.  
  
“No. No I'm... I mean a little. But mostly I'm mad at me. For... for messing it all up, you know? I never wanted you to believe that I wanted you dead. I never... You were dead, okay? I'm... you were dead.”

Her hands were shaking again, he could see the slight quiver on the levers and now it dawned on the Master that this wasn't rage but something else entirely.

He grinned, widely, unable to help himself, as he pushed himself off the side of the console he had leaned against and stalked towards her in big, sauntering, steps, taking a completely unnecessary route around the console, just to make it last longer.

“But I'm not anymore,” he finally proclaimed when he stood far, far too close to her, caging her in between the console and himself. “So you can tell me all the pretty things you thought you'd never get to tell me again, my dear, dear Doctor.”

Flirting was good. Cockiness was his middle name. Familiar ground. Safety. He could do this.

The Doctor rolled her eyes at him, but he could see her lips twitch into a light, short smile, could see the way her eyes flinched to his lips and back up quickly.

“Why?” she finally asked. “Why did you do it? All of it? The killing, the battling, the mocking, just why?”

The Master's smile fell off his face as quickly as it had appeared.

“That wasn't exactly what I had in...-”

“Tell me why!” she shouted, making him flinch and step away from her, giving her room to turn back around, looking back at her controls in a slouched position.

He was so tired of seeing her this way.

“I don't know... how to get through to you,” the Master explained, voice so feeble he barely recognised it himself. “I just don't know.”

Silence spread. Uncomfortable and scary. She knew, now, that he was scared, she had the control. She always had the control, of course, but for once, he had given it up willingly. She could choose to use it against him, or in favour of him and he wasn't sure, not at all, which it was going to be.

But he did know it would hurt either way.

“We'll pick up my friends,” she finally spoke into the silence and the Master felt his throat dry.

“You're dumping me?” he asked. “Wow. Five minutes. Must be a new record.”

His voice sounded bitter and flat and resigned and there was nothing he could do about it, so he just accepted it now. Embrace your emotions, he thought. Let her know of the damage she's doing, for once, let her not come out of it innocent.

But the Doctor shook her head, still not looking at him.

“No, of course not. We'll explain to them, somehow.”

He frowned.

“Doctor, I don't think that's a... good idea.”

She looked up at him.

“No. I know. But... we're not good for each other.”

“But you just said you weren't gonna... what are you even talking about?”

The Master tried his best, now, not to sound too desperate but her words had ignited fear inside him he had never known before. Those were break up words and they hadn't even been together for, what, centuries? A millennia?

“You need someone else,” she finally explained, waving her hands about like it would somehow clarify what she meant. “You need people you don't have as much history with, people with... with normal minds that aren't completely warped like mine, when it comes to you. Stable people. Compassionate people. Who can... work through this with you.”

“You're... giving me therapy dogs?”

Her lips twitched and he briefly wondered if she was holding back a scream or a laugh.

“I'm giving you friends. Because if I continue to be the only friend you have, we'll both be going insane.”

He stayed silent, at that, completely stunned. Stood silent still, when she typed in the coordinates and started materialising on Earth, apparently taking it as agreement.

He thought they could be his friends? He thought he could possibly be someone's friend? People she cared about, no less? Usually, she had given it her best to deny their friendship in front of her pets with every single ounce of energy she had, had tried her best to keep her reputation as a superhero as vehemently as she could.

Wait.

“We're friends, then?”

She looked up from her controls with a little smirk.

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have no clue if I'll ever get around to write more for this. It's probably unlikely. 
> 
> It starts mid-battle and ends before what I had originally planned, but still works on its own, somehow, I hope. I guess it's uploading it as a stand-alone or letting it collect dust on my harddrive forever and I thought it was actually too sad to have that happen, so here it is. 
> 
> The plan was, originally, to have them go on a quest to get back their memories, learn about their past together and kinda build a future at the same time, while the Master heals in company of her (their) friends, due to Yaz' compassion, Graham's understanding and Ryan's dorky way of accepting.


End file.
